FORT WORTH-DALLAS (April 22, 1997) - Texas Motor Speedway General Manager
Eddie Gossage along with Dan Cotter, chief executive of True Value,
announced today sponsorship of the inaugural True Value 500 Indy Racing
League (IRL) night event June 7 at the second-largest sports facility in
America.
The race, which is 500 kilometers, will begin at 7 p.m. (CST) and continue
into the night under the speedway's revolutionary lighting system.
"America's original nighttime Indy car race, the Inaugural True Value 500,
is going to be a race spectacular," said Gossage. "True Value and Texas
Motor Speedway are going to be a part of a history-making event, one that we
are very proud of. This race will be full of color and pageantry, a must
see event."
The Inaugural True Value 500 is the sixth race of the IRL season.
"We are proud to be a sponsoring company of this event," said Cotter. "The
IRL has been a dedicated partner to True Value, and we will continue to
pursue opportunities that make this sport more exciting and accessible to
the loyal fans and True Value customers who love the thrill of auto racing."
True Value stores carry nationally branded products as well as True Value's
premium product lines, including Tru-Test Paints. True Value has nearly
6,000 retail stores in the United States, Canada and 47 countries around the
world.
The Inaugural True Value 500 race week begins June 3 and continues through
June 7. Race week includes qualifying, Legends racing, the Pronto Auto
Parts 400 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series night race on June 6 and culminates
with the True Value 500 on June 7.
For information about these events, or to purchase tickets, call the
speedway at (817) 215- 8500.
Also announced today at Texas Motor Speedway was sponsorship of Budweiser
Qualifying Night at the 1.5 mile speedway June 4 and 5.
Budweiser Qualifying Night includes qualifying for the Pronto Auto Parts
400 and the Inaugural True Value 500.
"One of Budweiser's trademarks is the 'King of Beers' and Texas Motor
Speedway is the 'King of Speedways'," said Eddie Gossage, speedway general
manager. "We're a perfect match."
Qualifying for the IRL drivers takes place on June 4 at 7:30 p.m. (CST),
while qualifying for the Craftsman Truck drivers occurs on June 5 at 6 p.m.
(CST).
"Anheuser-Busch has been a long-time supporter of racing throughout the
country," said Lance Johnson, general manager Ben E. Keith Beers of Fort
Worth. "We at Ben E. Keith Beers are excited to join Anheuser-Busch in
bringing this IRL race to North Texas at Texas Motor Speedway."
Ben E. Keith Beers is the world's largest Anheuser-Busch distributor,
serving 47 counties in North Texas.
For the inaugural event at Texas Motor Speedway, IRL officials have created
a unique qualifying formula that includes a pit stop for Budweiser
Qualifying Night, June 4.
The lineup for the field will be determined by the total time it takes a
car to run three consecutive laps, including a pit stop with the tow right
side tires being changed during the third lap.
At the conclusion of the second warm-up lap, the car will be given the
green flag to start the qualification attempt. The official clock starts
with the green flag. The next complete lap will be lap one of the
qualification attempt, with the clock still running. At the conclusion of
the second timed lap, the car will be given the white flag to signify one
lap remaining. The next time around, or the third lap, the car will enter
the pits and stop in a designated pit box just before the pit lane
start/finish line.
The team will be allowed three crew members over the wall to change the two
right side tires. After the tire change is complete, the car will leave the
pit box and cross the start/finish line in the pits to stop the clock for
the entire three lap run.
The starting field will be set by the total time for the three complete
laps, including the pit stop.
Texas Motor Speedway will be offering $101,000 in posted awards for the
24-car field during Budweiser Qualifying Night for the IRL teams. The pole
sitter for the Inaugural True Value 500 will be awarded $25,000 while the
outside pole position will receive $10,000. The rest of the field,
positions 3-24, will be awarded $3,000 each.
Budweiser Qualifying Night general admission tickets will be 99 cents and
can be purchased the day of the event. The ticket is good for both June 4
and 5.